1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns apparatus for administering health care and periodic hygienic maintenance to handicapped individuals, and more particularly relates to a table apparatus for receiving a patient from a standing position and restraining the patient in a supine position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Children afflicted with Down Syndrome and/or Severe Autism or other neurological disorders often must be assisted with bathing, dressing and private toilet functions even at ages of ten years and older. Such inabilities of handicapped and health challenged persons cause significant problems for caregivers.
Once these children get older, to ten and above, their size and strength, often coupled with A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder) cause them to be highly unmanageable. The encounter between the caregiver and child becomes a struggle, especially when the youth is unwilling to cooperate.
Such episodes are strenuous for the caregiver. Not only are they physically exhausting, but they exact a toll on the caregiver's body, resulting in strained muscles, extended tendons, torn ligaments, and long-term chronic back and neck problems. The primary exertion required of the caregiver in such confrontations is lifting the youth onto a horizontal work surface from an initial sitting or standing position. Once the youth is placed in a supine position on a work surface, physical restraints must immediately be activated, often with difficulty, to maintain the youth in a serviceable position. Safety is always a primary concern, for both the caregiver and the youth, in order to keep the child from hurting himself and/or the caregiver. When a disturbed or frantic youth flails his arms about wildly, and kicks or bites, it is all too easy for injuries to occur. Similar problems are encountered with older patients afflicted with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Numerous devices have earlier been disclosed for use in hospitals and other health care institutions for transferring a patient onto a horizontally oriented table from a sitting position, as in a wheelchair, or from a standing position. Most such devices require motorized equipment, and are space-consuming and expensive. There is further little accommodation for handling recalcitrant patients.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide apparatus for transferring a standing patient onto the upper surface of a table caused to be horizontally oriented, said table being equipped with features for restraining said patient in a supine position.
It is another object of this invention to provide apparatus as in the foregoing object which can be folded to a compact storage state.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the aforesaid nature amenable to easy portability.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide apparatus of the aforesaid nature which can be easily pivoted by hand manipulation to cause said table surface to move between vertical and horizontal orientation.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.